Martin E. Thompson

Martin Euclid Thompson
Oval-shaped half-length portrait of Thompson in three-quarter view
Portrait by William Sidney Mount
Born1786
Died1877
Known forArchitect
Front of the arsenal, viewed at sharp angle, with small building and rustic fence in foreground, next to it
The Central Park Arsenal in 1914

Martin Euclid Thompson (1786–1877) was an American architect and artist prolific in nineteenth-century New York City, and a co-founder of the National Academy of Design.[1]

Originally trained as a carpenter, he had been a partner of Ithiel Town and went on to become one of the founders of the National Academy of Design.

He designed the New York State Militia's Arsenal, which in the 1850s became part of Central Park. Thompson's symmetrical structure of brick in English bond, with headers every fifth course, presents a central block in the manner of a fortified gatehouse flanked by half-octagonal towers. The carpentry doorframe speaks of its purpose with an American eagle displayed between stacks of cannonballs over the door, and crossed sabers and stacked pikes represented in flanking panels.[1]

  1. ^ a b Landmarks Preservation Commission (New York City).LP-0312 Archived 2012-06-15 at the Wayback Machine October 12, 1967